I read something last month where they slammed higher education. I'll see if I can dig it out. In the meantime, here's a couple of other quotes from the Kingdumb Ministery which really puts higher education in a negative light:
*** km 2001/6/01 p. 2 Service Meeting Schedule ***
15
min: Youths—Be Wise in Choosing Your Career. This is the first of three Service Meeting parts that will review Scriptural principles related to supplemental education.
Some Christian youths are pursuing secular careers through higher education, which is having a negative impact on their spirituality. This part is a discussion between two parents and their teenage son or daughter. The youth is at a point where a serious decision needs to be made about future goals. Although some may want to pursue financial advantages, prestige, or comforts of life, the family examine the Bible to see what it recommends. (See
Young People Ask, pages 174-5;
The Watchtower, August 15, 1997, page 21, and September 1, 1999, pages 19-21, paragraphs 1-3 and 5-6.) The youth agrees that it is wise to pursue a course in life that will serve him or her well in achieving theocratic goals to advance Kingdom interests.
***
km 6/00 p. 1 "Your Labor Is Not in Vain" ***1
What an encouraging thought! Your labor in Jehovah’s service is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15:58) In contrast, think of how people labor long and hard trying to improve their status in life or their financial situation. They may pursue higher education for years or work slavishly to get ahead materially. Yet, because of "time and unforeseen occurrence," they may never attain the prestige they are seeking, or they may be forced to settle for much less than they want materially. Like "a striving after wind," their efforts are in vain. (Eccl. 1:14; 9:11) How vital, then, that we have plenty to do in the only work that is not in vain because it has lasting value!
***
km 2/90 p. 3 Showing Trust in Jehovah by Pioneering ***1
Putting Kingdom interests first requires trust in Jehovah. (Ps. 56:11; Prov. 3:5; Matt. 6:33) We have to turn our mind away from what the world considers important and concentrate on spiritual values. While the world appeals to the desire for material things, Jehovah entreats us to be content with the really important things.—1 Tim. 6:8; Phil. 1:10.
2 This is especially a challenge to Christian youths who want to take Jehovah’s commands seriously. They may be pressured by their teachers and their peers at school who consider higher education essential to success in life. While recognizing they have material needs, many Christian youths wisely resist such pressure and choose the pioneer ministry as their career. Trusting in Jehovah’s promises, they look to him to care for their needs.
***
km 8/82 p. 3 Youths—Serve Jehovah With Loyalty ***Loyal youths share in congregation meetings, as well as in the field ministry. They avoid isolating themselves. (Prov. 18:1) Increasing numbers of young ones are rejecting high-paying jobs or higher education in favor of a career in the ministry. They humbly accept counsel and direction from older ones that will enable them to continue in loyal sacred service
***
km 1/80 p. 3 Are You the Only Member of Your Family in the Truth? ***4
Many of our teen-age or younger publishers are the only ones of their families in the truth. In spite of strict family tradition and intense pressure to pursue higher education, one young Oriental brother stood firm in his determination to pioneer. By his fine example, his younger sister also accepted the truth and both of them are now pioneering.
***
km 5/73 p. 4 What is Your Heart’s Desire? ***Rejecting
College Education to PioneerNot all those who are pioneering now had that desire originally. There were those who wanted higher education in order to get ahead in the world. One pioneer sister serving in Hawaii comments: "My goal was to get a good college education. I entered college and became inactive spiritually. However, I found college very dissatisfying. I thought there must be something better in life, something to make life more rewarding. I began to attend meetings again and associated with pioneers. Soon I left college and pursued the desire to serve Jehovah as a pioneer."
***
yp chap. 22 pp. 177-178 What Career Should I Choose? ***Another concern is the well-documented association of exposure to higher education with decreased "adherence to core religious tenets." (The Sacred in a Secular Age) The pressure to maintain high grades has caused some Christian youths to neglect spiritual activities and thus become vulnerable to the onslaught of secular thinking promoted by universities. Some have suffered shipwreck concerning their faith.—Colossians 2:8.
Alternatives
to University EducationIn view of these facts, many Christian youths have decided against a university education. Many have found that the training offered in congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses—the weekly Theocratic Ministry School in particular—has given them a real edge in finding employment. Though not possessing a university degree, such youths learn to be poised, adept at expressing themselves, and quite capable of handling responsibility. Furthermore, while in secondary school, some take courses in typing, computer programming, auto repair, machine-shop work, and so forth. Such skills may lend themselves to part-time employment and are often in high demand. And though many youths disdain ‘working with their hands,’ the Bible dignifies doing "hard work." (Ephesians 4:28; compare Proverbs 22:29.) Why, Jesus Christ himself learned a trade so well that he came to be called "the carpenter"!—Mark 6:3.
True, in some lands university graduates have so flooded the job market that it is hard to obtain even commonplace jobs without some additional job training. But often there are apprenticeship programs, vocational or technical schools, and short-term university courses that teach marketable skills with a minimum investment of time and money. Never forget, too, that there is a factor that employment statistics do not take into account: God’s promise to provide for those who give priority to spiritual interests.
Another Hawaiian sister relates the following: "My father wanted me to attend college on a scholarship. I had the desire to learn enough to see if human philosophies could help people with their problems. After one year of college, I realized the vanity of worldly wisdom and discontinued my college scholarship. My mother was a fine example as a pioneer. There were other zealous pioneers in the congregation, and their faith and zeal were contagious, stimulating a desire in me to join them in the pioneer service.
"After one circuit overseer’s visit, I was determined to become a pioneer. I talked to my mother about this and, due to my father’s not being in the truth, felt that I would have to leave home to pioneer. I explained to mother that, even if it meant leaving home to pioneer, I would do so. The thought of our becoming separated caused both of us to cry. I prayed that Jehovah would soften my father’s heart so that he would let me pioneer and remain at home. Jehovah answered my prayer and I have enjoyed a number of years at home in the pioneer service. Part-time work has been available to support mysel
